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Committee authorizes submission of $7M TAP grant for Warren County Bikeway, acknowledges steep local match
Summary
The finance committee authorized submission of a roughly $7 million New York State TAP grant application to build and upgrade segments of the Warren County Bikeway, saying federal funds would cover about 80% and the county may need to provide roughly $1.5 million as a local match subject to future appropriation.
Warren County's finance and budget committee on March 5 authorized the superintendent of public works to submit a final Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant application for a $7 million bikeway project along Country Club Road in Queensbury and nearby intersections.
The project described to the committee would build a 12-foot paved bikeway outside the existing roadway on portions of Country Club Road; it also would upgrade approximately 24 crossing locations and add intersection safety features around Round Pond, Blind Rock and Birdsall. Public works staff said the TAP program typically funds roughly 80% of construction costs, with the county responsible for the remaining 20% local share.
"If we did get the TAP funding, almost $6 million would come from federal funding to do this project," the project presenter said, describing the 80/20 funding split. Staff told supervisors the local 20% match was estimated at about $1.5 million, though the resolution only authorizes submission of the application and expresses the board's willingness to provide a local match from a source to be determined and subject to future budget appropriations.
Committee members pressed on safety and design details: whether there would be separation (a grass median or guide rail) between the road and the new path, right-of-way acquisition needs that help explain the project cost, and how many crossings would require upgrades and signage. Public works staff said the design anticipates advanced signage and flashing beacons at crossings, and explained that a portion of costs for the 24 intersection upgrades could be categorized as intersection-improvement (TAP-eligible) while the main bike-path segment would be funded from a separate road fund.
The resolution includes an administrative caveat: it authorizes the superintendent to submit the application and asks the board to indicate willingness to provide a local match "from a fund source to be determined and subject to future budgetary appropriations." The clerk later clarified the local cash contribution was being designated at $32,920 from the contingent fund for the short-term need to ratify the chair's actions; larger local-match decisions would come back to the board for appropriation if the grant is awarded.
Supervisors uniformly approved the item by voice vote.
What happens next: The county will submit the TAP application (deadline noted in committee discussion as March 12) and, if awarded, the board would be asked to appropriate the required local match and finalize project funding and design details.
